Vehicle Processor Fuel Cost Tracking via FIFO Queuing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle tracking systems are inconvenient and prone to inaccuracies in recording and reporting vehicle expenses, such as fuel costs, which can fail to meet regulatory requirements when records are not contemporaneously maintained.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle computing system with a processor and human-machine interface that uses a fuel queuing model to track and report fuel costs based on multiple fuel prices and quantities, automatically detecting fueling events and communicating with remote databases to provide accurate and reliable expense tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If detailed logs of expenses and uses are manually recorded, then accuracy of expense tracking is improved, but convenience and time required for recording deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic self-recording of fuel expenses by detecting fueling events through sensors, retrieving fuel prices from remote databases, and calculating costs without requiring manual user input. The vehicle processor autonomously maintains expense logs by correlating fuel consumption data with trip information, eliminating the burden of manual record-keeping while preserving accurate expense tracking.
2Ease of operation
If records are created some time after completion of trips, then convenience of recording is improved, but accuracy and compliance with regulatory guidelines deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary automatic recording of fuel expenses at the time of fueling events by detecting fuel purchases, retrieving prices, and storing cost data in real-time. Trip information is pre-associated with fuel consumption data, ensuring that accurate expense records are created contemporaneously rather than retrospectively, thereby maintaining both convenience and accuracy/compliance.
3Measurement precision
If a fuel queuing model with multiple fuel prices and quantities is implemented, then accuracy of fuel cost calculation is improved, but device complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a fuel queuing model as an intermediary computational layer between fuel purchase detection and cost calculation. This model maintains a queue of fuel batches with associated prices and quantities, automatically allocating fuel costs to trips based on the FIFO principle. The intermediary structure simplifies the complexity by providing a systematic, rule-based approach to tracking multiple fuel prices without requiring complex manual calculations or user intervention.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle computing system includes a vehicle human-machine interface (HMI) and a vehicle processor coupled to the HMI and programmed to store trip information for multiple trips including consumed fuel cost for vehicle operation in response to a trip purpose input from the HMI. The trip purpose may be a business or personal purpose, for example. A fuel queuing model based on at least two fuel prices and corresponding fuel quantities may be used to determine the consumed fuel cost associated with fuel consumed from the vehicle fuel tank. Trip information, such as date, distance traveled, origin, destination, and consumed fuel cost may be output to a display, a wirelessly connected smartphone, and/or a remote server in response to a request from the HMI.